Returning to his regular duties after more than a week away felt like picking up a book and not remembering where he left off.

  The dungeon campus itself had changed in his absence. The stable next to the dorm was complete and construction on the armory was underway, though the builders warned they would not finish before winter. Rather than risk a harsh snow undoing their construction efforts, they opted to prepare the site, gather much of the stone they would need for securing the armory vault, and head home. They'd finish the job in the spring.

  Many of the builders had scarcely seen their families over the summer, and they worked nearly everyday on a dungeon project of some sort. Under those circumstances, Hans had no issue with stopping construction for the year a bit early. Fall wasn’t here just yet, but the sky threatened rain more and more often as it approached.

  Tandis helped him get up to speed by giving him the other major updates.

  For her part in it, she decided Gunther living at the dungeon was fine. When Hans informed her that Uncle Ed had approved it as well, she suggested bribing a few of the builders to put up a cabin for the boys before winter. Hans liked the idea.

  Quest Complete: Talk to Uncle Ed and Tandis about Gunther spending time at the dungeon.

  According to Izz and Thuz, the DCs made good progress on ogre valley and “Shroom Town.” In another week or so, they may be able to run the valley without supervision. Like Hans, the lizardmen observed that ready access to specific monsters created a training trajectory far different from that of traditional adventurers.

  Ogres were typically Silver-ranked encounters, but because the Apprentices could train ogre tactics, observe other adventurers using those tactics, and then make attempts themselves with help close at hand, they adapted far more quickly. The standard encounter ratings assumed no direct prior experience and that a great deal of time passed between learning how to fight an ogre and actually getting to do it.

  When Izz and Thuz pointed out that standard encounter ratings were far less accurate for Gomi, Hans found himself agreeing. He had thought about monsters with that system for so long, however, that thinking of an alternative was surprisingly challenging.

  The lizardmen also reported that Bunri’s golem went three regrowths without a culling. The golem never woke on its own, and the regrowth didn’t add additional golems to the tower. Furthermore, they believed the golem would not be able to fit through the door to its room and would struggle to navigate stairs. Hans recalled how Bunri had a secret ground level exit in that room. Those obstacles were likely why.

  Quest Complete: Determine if the golem is a threat when the tower is undisturbed.

  The Minotaurs made progress as well. They had begun incorporating goblins into their training–meaning they went deeper into the dungeon–and aside from a goblin spear finding an Apprentice thigh on one occasion, those runs went well. Tandis said it wasn’t life threatening, and Thuz healed it right away.

  With their class selection coming up in the fall, two of the Minotaurs expressed interest in learning the Rogue class. Hans felt a breath of relief escape his chest.

  Quest Complete: Find a new Apprentice Rogue to fill the gap in Gomi’s adventuring capabilities.

  As the quest completions rolled in, Tandis asked, “Something the matter?”

  “I feel bad. Everyone was working so hard while I was gone.”

  “That’s the point of us having people. Can’t do it all yourself.”

  That was fair.

  “Any luck with Olza?” Tandis asked.

  Hans shook his head. “I’ve given her space. If anything, she made that space larger.”

  “I’m sorry, Hans.”

  “Did I do the wrong thing with that orc?”

  Frowning, Tandis answered, “I’m the wrong person to ask. What you did was gruesome and pretty nasty, but if I were there? Knowing that thing was going to Gomi where my daughter lives and plays? I’d have scooped his eyes out with a spoon if it meant being sure she was safe.”

  “Why do we feel that way, but not Olza?”

  “I don’t know. Desperation probably. It’s easy to say you’d never steal from someone, but that changes real fast when you’ve been scrounging garbage for weeks for something to eat. Surviving has its own set of rules.”

  The Guild Master nodded. “Like there’s a point where morals end and the survival instinct begins.”

  “I don’t know about the philosophy of it all, but I do know the world looks a lot different when you’re dealing with the worst parts of it.”

  “Speaking of the worst, any word from Lee?”

  “No, sir. In Gomi last I heard.”

  Hans’ next appointment was with the lizardmen brothers. The Kohei adventurers delayed the delivery of their answer to Mazo’s epiphany riddle. They believed they had it solved.

  They did. Like his lecture hall presentation to Olza about Mazo's ideas, none of the discussion Hans was about to have with the lizardmen was essential to an adventurers’ training.

  “A perfect opposite of a sound produces silence,” Thuz said. “That was how the golem muted our incantations without the Silence spell. We believe Miss Mazo had the same observation, leading her to conclude that the power of incantations is not actually the audible sounds they make. Sounds are a side effect.”

  “Well done,” Hans said. “You got it.”

  “Completely?” Izz asked.

  “Correct. Mazo has been working on replicating vocal cord vibrations with mana manipulation so she can cast all of her Blue Mage spells in total silence. Simulating incantations that way might also be easier to do for higher tier spells than mastering them with will alone. Uses more mana though, and according to Mazo, it’s a strange skill to learn.”

  “Yes, so she can then proceed to forced curses.”

  Hans didn’t understand.

  “Did she not explain?” Izz asked. “Many of the most powerful curses are self-inflicted.”

  “And they are quite disturbing in many cases,” Thuz added.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “But there is little to be gained from learning them. Even a Charmed target will not end its own life, regardless of the strength of the spell. With Miss Mazo’s theory, a sufficiently advanced mage could reproduce the incantation in an enemy’s own throat, forcing them to curse themselves.”

  “Wouldn’t a Puppeting spell provide the same control?” Hans asked.

  “I am unaware of anyone who has that granular of control with a Puppeting spell,” Thuz said.

  “Guys,” Hans said, feeling slightly ill, “she never mentioned anything about that. I think that’s your own leap.”

  “Interesting. I wonder, how does one practice a curse that kills its caster?” Izz asked, mostly to himself.

  Hans regretted recreating the Bunri job. Somehow Mazo’s influence had become even worse than if she was there in person.

  “Help me out with something, please,” Hans said, “Our theory was that the squonks used a sound human ears couldn’t detect to create the hopelessness aura. Since it’s still technically sound, how does that square with Mazo’s theory?”

  The lizardmen descended into deep thought. Thuz spoke first. “You compared the squonks to sirens when you first described them to us, correct?”

  That was correct.

  “And Miss Becky was immune while every other adventurer–all human–was not?”

  Also correct.

  “I am unfamiliar with the physical anatomy of how different races hear sound, but if our eyes interpret light and our ears interpret soundwaves… A physical piece of the body makes that possible. Becky’s resistance could be like other racial immunities. The attack is incompatible with how a dwarf’s ear functions relative to a human’s.”

  Izz raised a hand. “If wax protects against sirens and squonks, then blocking the vibrations from reaching the inner ear would appear to be the explanation for why that works. Audible or not, the vibrations would enter your ear, yes?”

  Thuz nodded and added, “This might overlap with our earlier discussion of self-curses. Just as Mazo seeks to force a target to curse themselves with her mana manipulations, perhaps a siren song or a hopelessness aura is similar?”

  Hans rubbed his head. “There’s a lot of big assumptions and logical leaps in there.”

  The brothers agreed. “I would propose we compare dwarf anatomy to human anatomy to determine if there’s a structural difference to how their ears function. We might not have access to cadavers for dissection for some time, however.”

  “You mean?”

  “How else would we see the inside of an ear?”

  In a way, Hans was impressed. Not many topics made him feel queasy, but this one for sure did.

  Hans sat outside, enjoying the fall air wafting through the dungeon campus. He read a Haynu novel: Volume 13: The Gaping Wrecked Them. This one told the story of Haynu being eaten by a hill giant and having to fight his way out from the inside.

  Terry came out of the dungeon, yelling for Hans. He closed his book and went to see what was wrong.

  “Was this your doing, eh Hans? It’s pretty good, I’ll give you that. Surprised the hell out of me.”

  He didn’t know what Terry meant.

  “You’re saying it wasn’t you? Huh. I’ll show you if that’s how you’re playing this.”

  Hans, Kane, Quentin, and Pogo followed Terry to the Bone Goblins. Like it had done for Hans, Terry’s outburst made the Apprentices curious. They wanted to see what had Terry riled up.

  Rattling thumps punctuated by shrill but muffled war cries echoed down the entrance hall of the Regenerating Castle. Hans rounded a corner and found a wooden box, about the height of his waist with the same width, sitting in the middle of a corridor. The box rocked back and forth and slid across the room in jerky lurches as the monster inside raged, trying to break free.

  “What’s in the box?” Hans asked. He had an idea, based on the noises it made.

  “Goblin, I think, but the lid is nailed shut. I wasn’t keen on exploring.”

  Kane and Quentin broke. They couldn’t hold their laughter back any more. Hans asked if the goblin in a box was their idea. They insisted it wasn’t, but they did think it was hilarious.

  Pogo came clean. “The DCs missed a goblin on their last run. We found it when we were escorting the harvesters. Thought it’d be funny to keep it alive instead of doing the DCs work for them.”

  Hearing people talking gave the goblin in the box a new surge of energy. It hurled itself against the side of its prison, succeeding in tipping it over but not in getting any closer to an escape.

  “No way we missed a goblin,” Terry said.

  “Yet…”

  “Can you believe this, Hans? Kids these days.”

  Hans did his best to disguise his own reaction to the practical joke. It was really funny, but he reminded everyone of his “no joking on runs” rule. The dungeon probably had countless opportunities for such shenanigans, but dying in a dungeon was far too easy for him to allow this behavior to continue.

  “No more of this, and pass that on to everyone else,” Hans said. “Pogo, when the harvesters are done with the elementals, I want three laps. Dungeon entrance down to the big room of the mines then back is one.”

  “Okay, Mr. Hans,” Pogo said, slightly defeated. “It was funny, though, right?”

  The Guild Master allowed himself to laugh. “A goblin in a box is downright hilarious. If they weren’t ruthlessly cruel monsters, mailing this to another chapter would be incredible.”

  He told Pogo to never do it again.

  When Hans finally remembered a job that could work for a chokepoint, he jumped out of his cabin bed and began scribbling in his notebook. The hodag job.

  Most adventurers knew hodags from their appearance in the Reaver’s Rest dungeon, but they were originally native to high-altitude mountains where their gray bodies disappeared against the backdrop of rock and snow. They had the body of a scaled panther with the long tail of a lizard, horns down their backs, and two bull-shaped horns on their heads.

  For the hodag job, Hans’ party passed through a military fort in the mountains bordering the frontier. The fort was long-abandoned. Little of the battlements and interior structures remained. Hans’ did, however, cross over a deep chasm via drawbridge, the mountain equivalent of a moat. The drawbridge was broken, leaving it permanently open, but the thick timber survived, making it possible to walk across.

  Try as he might, Hans couldn’t think of a job that included a working drawbridge. He had seen dozens of them over the years, of course, but he never had a monster encounter that occurred near enough to one. The hodag job was the closest he could get.

  Quest Update: Investigate repairing a drawbridge for a dungeon chokepoint, and ideate on how to contain flying monsters as well.

  Hans had a vague understanding of drawbridges using counterweights to make the process of raising and lowering them easier, but he knew nothing of how to construct such a device. Given the diversity of minds in Gomi, Hans hoped someone would have the answer or the requisite skills to figure it out.

  The concept risked trapping adventurers inside of the dungeon–a concern that gave the Guild Master a great deal of worry early in the dungeon’s growth–but the orc warband incident made him more aware of how fragile their dungeon culling routine really was. Their drawbridge would work in reverse, positioned to keep things in rather than out, and they could leave it down for the vast majority of the time, raising it only in emergencies.

  If a Magic Lock spell could secure the lever, or winch or whatever the mechanism was called that lifted the bridge, they could prevent any potential tampering from intelligent dungeon monsters. Hopefully.

  New Gomi would probably like a little more security as well. Would make me feel better.

  Quest Update: Investigate repairing two drawbridges for dungeon chokepoints, and ideate on how to contain flying monsters as well.

  Open Quests (Ordered from Old to New):

  Progress from Gold-ranked to Diamond-ranked.

  Mend the rift with Devon.

  Complete the next volume (Iron to Bronze) for "The Next Generation: A Teaching Methodology for Training Adventurers."

  Visit the locations of old Diamond quests with Becky.

  Explore the idea of training “dungeon lifeguards” to accompany adventurers in training.

  Await the arrival of a safe for the Gomi chapter.

  Complete construction of the Takarabune (still need diamond, scarlet steel, celestial steel, and mimic blood).

  Investigate repairing two drawbridges for dungeon chokepoints, and ideate on how to contain flying monsters as well.